Riverside Elementary

Riverside Elementary is an elementary school of moderately sized scale in Joppa, Maryland, part of Harford County Public Schools, teacheing 481 students in grades pre-K through 5.

Harford County Public Schools comprises 55 schools with combined enrollment of 37,771 students; Riverside Elementary is among them.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Riverside Elementary logs that the most-represented group is Black (39%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups. Beyond that, the school reports 33% White, 15% Hispanic, 10% multiracial, 2% Asian. By comparison, Harford County as a whole is about 14% Black, so the school skews noticeably more Black than its surroundings.

Looking at the economic backdrop, The school lists 38 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 12.5:1. The state averages around 13.8:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. Roughly 67% of students at Riverside Elementary qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. Set against Harford County (around 39%), the school's rate is meaningfully above typical.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Riverside Elementary sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 34.5%; this one delivers 30.6%.

In the broader community, Harford County reports that the typical household earns roughly $112,265 per year, roughly 40% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 5% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Harford County runs 55 public schools (combined enrollment of about 37,771 students), of which Riverside Elementary is one.

The closest other public school is Magnolia Middle, roughly 0.6 miles away. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Riverside Elementary at 4th of 9; the average score across the group is 33.7%.

Riverside Elementary operates from a suburban location.

Over the past 7-year window. Over the past 7-year window, the student count showed little movement: 472 students in 2018 compared to 481 in 2025. White enrollment moved from 45% to 33% across the same window. The student-to-teacher ratio fell from 17.2:1 in 2018 to 12.5:1 today.

On the community side, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.